1/15/13

PRINTING THE MOON

Wow! We're getting really, really close to having our latest print, "THE MOON" readily available! Sure have learned a lot working on this project…about what the two of us can accomplish as a team in a short amount of time (lots of plans for more big work in 2013!) and also how small our in-home studio gets when we are printing big works! Big blocks, big stacks of paper and newsprint, big slabs of ink, big rollers--every surface piling up and used to the max. We have to print the edition in batches due to space constraints. But, they are getting done and looking really good, people!

Working in a medium like woodcut, there are always unforseen hurdles and its very difficult to estimate exactly how long any one task can take (though we are getting better at this, believe us!) When the task of carving of all of the blocks for a particular print is finished, we start proofing our colors. Every time color changes, blocks have to be stripped & rollers cleaned. Rolling ink on the block itself takes a good chunk of time. Every new block we roll up with ink is different, from a different tree with different grains and evenness of ply. A lot of troubleshooting happens to get our prints to the 'thumbs up' stage. We probably proofed "THE MOON" over 25 times (25 different variations) before we were happy with the way our color was working. A medium like woodcut can be grueling and slow, but we love it.

We don't always spend a lot of time talking about these little details, but in the new year we are going to start talking more about the specifics of our craft. We'll share it all here, on our blog!

Pre-orders for "THE MOON" will start shipping out on a first in, first out basis starting today. We thank everyone for their orders and their patience. Everyone should have their pre-ordered prints real, real soon!

Prints of "THE MOON" can still be purchased for a limited time at the introductory rate HERE. Orders will ship first in, first out until we have the edition printed in full. A little deal for a little wait! When we finished editioning, the price of "THE MOON" will go up.